What's new?

Vortex Studio Create “running a simulation”

A simulation that contains mechanical engineering content created with Vortex Studio Create can now run without the need of a specific license.

Since “running a simulation” is unlocked on any single computer, applications such as Python, Unity, or Unreal can be used to run a simulation containing Vortex Studio content, no matter the operating system, as long as the system is supported by Vortex Studio.

Vortex Studio Create applications, including Vortex Studio Editor and Vortex Studio Debugger, still requires a license.

Whenever a Vortex Studio Activate feature is used in a simulation, a Vortex Studio license is required.

Vortex Studio Launcher

The Vortex Launcher is a new Vortex Application meant to simplify the deployment of a simulation from a convenient interface. Through a uniform UX and a simple user interface, it will help organize simulation applications into a unified presentation.

Vortex Launcher architecture will launch a Vortex Simulator based on which simulation packages are installed and on the Simulator hardware description. Vortex Launcher can launch simulators that are using Vortex 2023.1 and later.

It is a replacement for the Vortex Console, which is now deprecated.

The Vortex Demo scenes were updated to showcase the Vortex Launcher capabilities as well as the integration with Unity.

System Requirements

VortexSetup and previous versions of Vortex Studio

When downloading an earlier version (Before 2023.5) of the VortexSetup utility installer from the website, the tool is no longer capable of fetching the installation packages remotely.

The installation packages must be fetched from the Manual Process section. After copying them into the same folder as VortexSetup, VortexSetup will work normally.

The latest version of VortexSetup works properly.

Supported Platform

Vortex Studio 2023.7 runs on the following platforms:

Microsoft Windows 10 (x64), version 22H2.
Microsoft Windows 11 (x64), version 22H2.

Not all features are available on the Linux operating system. See Features and Capabilities Overview for more details.

2022.8 is the last version supporting CentOS7 or equivalent. An update to the latest Ubuntu LTS and equivalent systems is in progress.

Hardware Requirements

Recommended Configuration for Vortex Editor

CPU Intel i7-9700 or better
RAM 32GB
GPU
- Intel, NVIDIA, or AMD
- 4 GB VRAM, Vulkan 1.3

Software Capabilities

Mongo DB

Mongo DB is the database engine used in Vortex Activate.

The version supported is Mongo DB 4.2.

Qt

Vortex Studio uses a custom version of Qt 5.15.2.

Python

Unreal Engine Integration

Vortex Studio 2023.7 supports integration with Unreal Engine version 4.26.

Unity Integration

Vortex Studio 2023.7 supports integration with Unity 2021.3.16f1 LTS.

Supported Compiler

Vortex Studio 2023.7 supports Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 (VC14) compiler and above.

GCC 7.3 is the supported compiler on Linux.

Simulink/MATLAB

Real-time UDP protocol of Simulink/MATLAB is supported.
Vortex S-Function block in Simulink is supported.

Supported 3D model File Types

The following 3D model file types can be imported into Vortex Studio Editor.

.cive, .dae, .fbx, .flt, .ive, .obj
.osg2, .osga, .osgb, .osgs, .osgt, .osgx, .shp

Vortex Human

In the editor, humans can be represented as a capsule and moved around with a script or an animation path extension.

Visualization of humans can be done in a simulator using Unity or Unreal.

Vortex Vegetation

In the editor, plants and trees can be represented as collision geometries.

Visualization of Vegetation can be done in a simulator using Unity or Unreal.

Licensing

Vortex uses RLM by Reprise Software™ for licensing.

Compatibility Notice

Between the Windows version and the Linux version

Between any Vortex version

Record-and-Playback as well as Keyframe files created with previous versions may not work with Vortex Studio 2023.7.

End-of-life Notice

Python 3.8 needs to be used.

Feature Snap to Surface in the Vortex Editor was removed.

Minor Improvements in Vortex Studio 2023.7

In addition to features documented in the “What's New”, minor improvements have been made during the development of Vortex Studio 2023.7:

ID	Summary

ID	Summary

Fixed Issues in Vortex Studio 2023.7

Various bugs and workflow issues have been fixed during the development of Vortex Studio 2023.7:

ID	Summary

ID	Summary

Known Issues in Vortex Studio 2023.7

ID	Summary	Workaround
VP-41437	When a sound is created such that the listener and the emitter are exactly at the same location, or the listener is moving together with the emitter such that it is precisely above it, the sound that the operator hears becomes garbled.	This happens for monaural sound track when the listener and the emitter are moving in tandem while being either too close or aligned vertically. The workaround is keep the sound emitter and the listener separate and make sure they can't be move in a way where they could align with each other.
VP-43810	Memory blocks dumped, when terminating the application.	None. This memory leak is not growing, it's memory that should be returned before the end of the process. Requires a 3rd party update.
VP-44315	Memory leak related to VxContactMaterial when there is a contact upon termination of a VxCore application.	Removing all parts and collision geometries before destroying the VxUniverse ensures that any ongoing contact is invalidated before destroying the VxUniverse. Optionally, using the higher level VxSim API and loading content created in the Vortex Studio Editor seems to work around this issue as the content is automatically unloaded before the application is destroyed.

Vortex Studio 2023.7 Documentation

Vortex Studio 2023.7 Change Log